One fabulous month later

October 14 2009

Its amazing that Jared has already been with us for one month. He is such a sweet baby and we are so glad that he is here in our family! I am really enjoying being a mom, it makes me so happy. I appreciate Mark working so hard so that I can stay home with Jared and I appreciate all of Mark's help with Jared when he is home. The first month has gone really well (and fast) and we look forward to all the ones to come. We are a happy family!

November 14 2009



Look at that tummy!



*I had Jared weighed on Tuesday and he was 9.4 pounds. He is growing so much! He is also becoming much more alert when he is awake. It's so fun.

Mail

I love getting mail! Having gone without real mail service for 2 1/2 years once upon a time in my life I really appreciate The United States Postal Office. I don't even mind the long lines that are often there or the fact that stamps increase in price every year it feels like. (Maybe I do mind that a little are they trying to make those of us who still try to send real mail stop?) Since Jared has joined our family we have been getting lots of fun cards and packages which makes me like the mail system even more. Well yesterday Jared and I went on a little walk (in the beautiful 60 degree sunny fall weather) and stopped to get the mail and we got the funniest letter in the mail. As you may recall about 6 weeks ago we got a letter in the mail from a local Toyota dealership expressing interest in our 2007 Corolla because they had a shortage on their lot. Well yesterday we got a letter in the mail from the same dealership expressing interest in our Toyota Highlander because they had a shortage on the lot and if we were interested we could bring it in and trade it in for a 2008 or 2009 model. I read it over and just burst out laughing and then shook my head at the ridiculousness of the letter. Hmmm, yes I would like to trade in the car that everyone wanted and that we just bought a month ago. Silly Silly Silly, that was a waste of a 44 cent stamp if you ask me. But it did give Mark and I a good laugh so that was nice.
Jared also got his first official piece of mail addressed to himself yesterday, his social security card came. It also made me laugh to see an envelope addressed to my 3 week old from an official government agency. So now we have 3 copies of his birth certificate and his Social Security Card so he is perfectly legit should anyone question him.

So again I love the mail it makes me happy, and sometimes it even makes me laugh.



And this made me laugh too, it looks like he is trying to scare us, BOO!



Just because he's adorable!

The weekend

On Friday I took Jared to his 2 week appointment and got the great and reassuring news that Jared is doing so good. He is up to 8.2 pounds and is 21 inches long. He did have an "accident" on the scale when the nurse asked me to take off his diaper to weigh him but other then that it was an uneventful appointment. I really like our pediatrician he is great. I was a little nervous about the drive over there because we had 2 snow days this week so the roads were pretty yucky Friday morning when I took him in. (Note to self, never schedule an appointment before 10:00 again! although we did get there 5 minutes early, yay for us!) It made me really happy that we had traded in the Corolla I just have very little bad road condition experience, growing up in California and all, I felt much more confident in our Highlander. It was fun to go to to the appointment and hear the Jared is doing so well. The Doctor said that since Jared showed no problem gaining weight to go ahead and let him sleep as long as he wants at night. So far he is a very regular 3- 3 1/2 hour kid but maybe he will go a little longer every now and then. Its just nice to know if he wants to sleep it won't be a problem. If I asked any lactation specialist she would never allow that!
What has been nice this week is that we had those 2 really cold snowy days and then Friday was sunny and 55 and all the snow melted! I am told this is the norm here and am really looking forward to the winter, Saturday was the most perfect fall day. We went to the store and got a stroller for Jared and went on our first family walk. Next week is supposed to be beautiful also so I hope to put the stroller to good use before it gets too cold. We were were going to wait to get one in the Spring but I think we will get some good use out of it before then. I do have to remind myself to take it easy though because going on the walk did make me a little sore and pretty tired but it was so nice to be outside and enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. I think it was good for Jared too.

I just love the fall!!

We only got 2 trick or treaters last night but we also went over to some friends house to play games so who knows if more came. It was our first "night out" with Jared and it went well. It is strange to be the one who has to take a break in a game to feed their baby. I am glad we went out. I need to get out and just figure out how to do it. My mom got this cute outfit for Jared that had these cute little dinosaur feet so we put it on Jared yesterday as his costume.

2 weeks already!

Jared has been with us now for 2 weeks! Often it feels much longer and I have to remind myself that he is still so young. So far he has been such an easy baby. (well not that I have anything to compare him to but everything seems to be going really well) I often find myself worrying that one day I will wake up and my sweet good natured little boy will be a totally different kid but fortunately he seems pretty content. He rarely cries, mostly just when we are changing his diaper and easily sleeps for 3 hours at a time. I have to wake him up for every feeding and he could sleep much longer if I let him! Which sometimes I am tempted to do but I want to make sure he is eating enough. We really appreciate his thoughtfulness! The last 2 days have been extra nice because Mark's school has been canceled (I love snow days!!) so we have gotten to spend time cuddling and loving our little boy. I went to a breastfeeding support group the other day and had Jared weighed and he is up to 7.15 pounds. (Its so nice to be able to drive myself places again) I have been feeling pretty well. Still just trying to rest a lot and enjoy this time with Jared. Tomorrow he has his 2 week appointment with the pediatrician. I find myself really looking forward to his appointments so I can hear that he is doing well.
Here are some pictures of the little cutie! It turns out that taking good pictures of newborns is rather difficult!

My Mom got this outfit for him. I love it!
He is for sure the cutest pumpkin in the patch to us!

"He's Perfect"

So says the pediatrician we took Jared to this morning for his newborn checkup. He said Jared has great lungs and his heart sounds great. His weight is back up to 7.1 pounds; he was 6.13 when we left the hospital, and somehow his head is now 14 inches instead of 13.5 and he is 20.5 inches long instead of 20.

As we were leaving the hospital they gave us a little diaper bag that had all kinds of coupons and pamphlets in it. Inside one pamphlet there were horoscopes for the babies. Here is Jared's first horoscope.

LIBRA: September 24 - October 23

Baby Libra is a sweet and gentle, go-with-the-flow type of child who might even need waking when its time to eat. This born diplomat loves to communicate. From day one, he'll charm you and everyone else around- expect him to do well in baby groups and classes from early on. Try to surround your little Libra with vibrant colors. He's an artist who loves observing nature's beauty and listening to music. Enjoy your refined baby!

We thought this was a pretty good model pose with his hand behind his head.

He has been such a sweet, good natured baby. I love looking at him and realizing how perfect he is. While we were waiting to see the Doctor, Mark was holding Jared and I looked over at him and thought, "Oh my goodness! That is our baby, he is not holding someone else's child!" We are so happy that Jared is here with us.

*This oh so cute quilt is one that my sister made for Jared. She's so good! Thanks Susanna we love it!